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[second attempt - failed to send this yesterday] Can anyone enlighten me on the issue of claiming tax relief on your LA subscription? (Mentioned in email by Emilce Rees). I didn't know this was possible but it sounds like good news! Is it just as simple as contacting the local tax office? I am encouraged to hear people's contributions today mentioning employers allowing time off and generally being supportive and helpful to chartering candidates. The previous emails seemed to imply that I was the only fortunate person out there! Personally, both employers I have worked for in my short career have been great about allowing time and money (within the realms of possibility) for courses, training and personal development. I haven't had LA subs paid here but I have had a lot of time given to work on my report and to attend some courses and meetings. My boss also put together the route A training programme for me. As to employers who are not willing to help employees with the chartering progress, it seems fairly crazy and to me. Allowing staff the chance to develop professionally has so many benefits - for the information sector as a whole, for staff morale within the organisation, for staff performance at their job etc. A question for debate perhaps: how much does anyone else think their employer considers the profession as a whole rather than just their individual organisation? For example, how willing would an employer be to train or help with the development of one of their employees if this is likely to lead to them leaving the organisation? Do employers see this as a general benefit to the profession and the individual or just as a disadvantage to them? Anyone any ideas how employers could be enouraged to see the long term benefits of CPD for their staff and to appreciate benefits that might not fit into a simple performance indicator? I know many organisations have tight budgets and restrictions on finances which can make it hard to support employees in training, courses etc. Even so, I would hate to see the information profession following the lines of "call centre culture" - watching and monitoring every second of work time with no lee-way, encouragement or valuing of staff as people. I'd be interested to know what anyone else thinks or has experienced about this issue Jo Jo Fulton (nee Skinner) Assistant Librarian International Christian College 110 St James Road Glasgow, G4 0PS [log in to unmask]